The OSCE Mission in Kosovo yesterday organized a debate with representatives of NGOs and gender equality offices to discuss gender sensitive reporting in Kosovo media. Representatives of different organisations working on gender equality in Kosovo consider that Kosovo women continue to be misused by the local media. Violeta Kurti-Islami presented a report, which says that gender equality is mainly ignored in Kosovo media. She also criticized the government for not considering the requests of women organisations for advancement of women’s position. “I have often approached them on behalf of my organisation, but they have not even replied to me,” she said.

Meanwhile, Besa Rafuna from the Municipality of Pristina said that women in Kosovo still hesitate to present their political opinion. “If women present their opinion in public, they might easily be attacked from different sides about it,” Rafuna said.

The representative of the OSCE, Arianit Osmani, said that media in Kosovo rarely have journalists that cover gender issues specifically.